The Loveland loyal are legion and not just because they can slip off the interstate before the Eisenhower Tunnel. When asked, they tick off the reasons in rapid succession: Chair 4. Chair 8. Chair 9. 400 inches of snow. The powder. The cheap food. The variety of terrain. Did we mention the powder?

Branden Peak has been calling Loveland his home mountain since 1993, and he says it’s because “it’s a little big mountain.” The snowboarder owns a skate and snow-gear shop in Denver called Emage, and he has been riding Loveland every Wednesday with a group for years. “We continue to be amazed,” he says. “Last year, with as much snow that fell, we hit some stuff that we’d never even seen before. I tell my friends who go to other areas, I know you like to go there, but half the run you ride is nothing but catwalk, and by that time, we’re back on the lift and riding the banger stuff.”

Top trails: “We love Chair 9 when it’s open, but that can be a real conditions-based thing,” Peak says. “So then we’re talking Chair 8, and this run called Awesome. No one ever believes me that that’s what it’s called but it is. Go to the top of Chair 8, and go straight out. Awesome is out there. It’s pretty rad; it lives up to its name. It has a couple of different gates. Also, you can come straight off Chair 8 and literally drop off the catwalk into the powder fields. People all the time just ride the catwalk, and I’m like, ‘What? Dude, what are you doing? You’re missing all this powder!'” Peak says the trees off Chair 8 are also amazing, and he’s “stoked” that the new, faster triple chair has replaced the double on Chair 4.

Don’t miss: The Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter, which they have on tap at the Wedge Bar. “It’s my favorite, and they don’t have it on tap very many places,” Peak says. “That’s pretty sweet.”

Check out these other spots:

Kyle Wagner worked at The Denver Post from 2002-2014. She joined as the restaurant critic and food writer after nine years as restaurant critic for Westword. Her passions for mountain biking, hiking, snowboarding, skiing, river rafting, exploring the world — and anything that gets her out of the office — made transitioning into travel and fitness a perfect fit.

More in Travel

Colorado’s lodging revenue is mirroring the bleak snowpack in the high country, according to a report by Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association. It just makes sense — when snow is slow to fill the ski slopes, fewer people occupy the hotel rooms.

The list highlights the Broadmoor’s scenic location alongside Cheyenne Lake and proximity to outdoor opportunities like hiking and fly fishing as perks of booking a stay there. Large rooms and a highly rated in-house restaurant, La Taverne, also made the highlights.